With fissures threatening the coalition that got RTD’s FasTracks tax measure passed seven years ago, Chris Romer said that as Denver mayor he would help restore a spirit of regional cooperation to complete the transit project.

“This is one of the most important investments in our community,” Romer recently told the Regional Transportation District board of directors. “I will be a relentless advocate to help you do this.”

FasTracks is one of a number of regional issues Romer is highlighting during his campaign against Michael Hancock. Others include development opportunities on Colfax Avenue; a possible move of the National Western Stock Show to a site near Denver International Airport; and promoting cooperation between Denver’s Mountain Parks system and Jefferson County.

From his work in municipal finance and during four years in the legislature, Romer, 51, has long been active with regional transportation issues.

Romer said he is open to asking voters in 2012 to approve additional taxes to complete FasTracks. He said he has reached out to at least 20 members of the Metro Mayors Caucus, and is already thinking of ways to use a public- private partnership — in advance of a tax vote — to help finance and fully build the $751 million Interstate 225 light-rail line in Aurora.

“We should start to tell a story that is not just a ‘Hey, we need to raise your taxes’ story,” Romer said.

Asked about Romer’s proposal for I-225 rail, Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer said, “The most important thing the mayor of Denver can do is support a team approach to the metro area.”

Tauer said he is remaining neutral in the contest, but of the qualities he’s looking for in a new Denver mayor, he added: “It’s not always about being the first quote in the story. It’s about making sure the story is right and that the story moves us forward.”

On a number of occasions, Romer has cited his work on the $488 million Union Station redevelopment project as evidence of his commitment to regional success.

He recalled how he and chief Denver Union Station Project Authority financial adviser Alexander Brown helped the authority craft a finance plan that rejected selling bonds for the project and instead relied on two loans from the U.S. Department of Transportation that totaled about $300 million.

“When you manage one of these teams which has got 30 different personalities, lots of egos, lots of process, my middle-child skills” emerge for “bringing lots of people together, navigating the facts and getting across the finish line,” Romer said.

Some who have been active in Union Station redevelopment say they do not recall Romer being all that pivotal to the process. A number of these people are backing Hancock and chose not to be quoted.

Brown, who supports Romer for mayor, said it was advisers from Goldman Sachs and another firm that originated the idea of uniquely blending the two federal loans to help finance Union Station improvements.

Brown said the task for his firm included devising cash-flow structures that helped satisfy loan repayment requirements.

“Chris was part of the strategic thinking” that went into the Union Station team’s negotiations with federal officials and he helped work through some of the “what-ifs” that accompanied those talks, said Brown, who paid Romer nearly $50,000 for his advice on the project.

As a state senator, Romer worked with Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy to help get the FASTER transportation bill passed in 2009.

FASTER was a controversial, multi-faceted measure that raised vehicle license fees to pay for Colorado road and bridge repairs. The law also created a new state entity to promote tolling and other alternative financing mechanisms for transportation.

“Chris approached me and together we were able to engage the Metro Mayors Caucus, DRCOG (Denver Regional Council of Governments) and CCI (Colorado Counties Inc.)” in support of the bill, said Murphy, who emphasized his neutrality in the Denver mayoral race.

After the bill passed, Romer said, “My team stood up with some political courage and got a really difficult thing done.”

Romer has pushed for using FASTER funds to help pay for reintroduction of streetcars on East Colfax.

“Lakewood, Denver and Aurora need to together establish their vision for Colfax,” he said.

“It’s a cool street,” he added. “I used to ride my Stingray on it” and take the No. 15 bus to his summer job.

As for the potential move of the National Western, Romer called it an extremely complex transaction. If it happens, he said, he would like stock show facilities to end up on city land near DIA.

On the mayoral campaign trail, Romer’s opponents have criticized his plan to get savings from partnering Denver’s Mountain Parks system with Jefferson County Open Space.

It turns out that kind of cooperation has been going on for years.

Denver’s mountain system of parks has at least 10,000 acres, and much of it lies adjacent to, or otherwise in close proximity with, Jefferson County’s 51,000 acres of open space.

“We’ve had lots of discussion and dialogue on how we can do more together,” said Jefferson County Open Space director Tom Hoby.

Having top leadership in Denver with the “political will” to advance that relationship should allow the collaboration to go even further, Hoby said.

Romer cites the success of Glendale, Lakewood and other communities with big-box retailing as something Denver should emulate, but for all his commitment to regionalism, on this issue he seems less cooperative and more combative.

“When we lost our Target on Sheridan and Evans, I didn’t see (Lakewood Mayor) Bob Murphy send us an ‘I’m so sorry’ card for his new Target at Belmar, did he?” Romer asked.

“We’ve got to do better in figuring out our retail sales-tax base,” he said, adding that possibly Denver can entice big retailers by working cooperatively to provide garage parking for the ventures.

Glendale Mayor Larry Harte said Romer contacted him about a year ago to introduce himself.

“I had never met him. We went out for coffee and talked a lot about regional cooperation,” said Harte, who said he has had more interaction with Hancock and is not endorsing either candidate.

Romer is “a regional thinker,” Harte said, adding that he was left with the impression that Romer’s goal would be to “increase the pie” for the whole area so all jurisdictions prosper.

About the series

The Denver Post explores the experiences and views of the men who would be Denver’s next mayor on topics ranging from their professional and political histories to their stances on education reform and regional cooperation.

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